Bacterial-Origin Polymers: The Relationship between Biomedical Properties and Natural Functions

Dear Colleagues,

Polymers synthesized by bacteria have great potential for biomedical application due to their unique properties. A series of biomedical properties of bacterial-origin polymers are completely determined by their natural properties, e.g., biocompatibility, biodegradability, superior biomechanical properties, specific biological activity (osteogenic, chondrogenic, fibrogenic, neurogenic, prebiotic), antimicrobial activity, ability of chemical functionalization, loading by drugs for their sustained or/and controlled delivery. Additionally, the natural properties of bacterial-origin polymers, such as thermoplasticity, specific diffusion properties, mechanical properties, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, chemical reactivity, piezoelectric properties, antioxidant activity, receptor affinity, etc., are in turn closely associated with their natural function in the bacterial cell. The biological activity of bacterial polymers with “lowly” protective or reserve functions and, especially, the reason for the manifestation of this bioactivity are poorly studied. Meanwhile, even polymers with a simple chemical structure can exhibit very unusual and interesting features. Unfortunately, in most cases, this important information is hardly taken into account in research on the biomedical applications of various biomaterials.

Bacteria synthesize a number of structural and storage polymers, which are components of the bacterial wall, their capsule mucosa and biofilm, as well as polymers stored in special cell granules. Such biopolymers are lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan, gellan, xanthan, poly-gamma-glutamic acid, poly(3-hydroxyalkanoates), bacterial alginate, poly-L-lysine, cyanophycin, inulin, levan, kefiran, bacterial glycogen, polyphosphates, lipoteichoic acids, bacterial lipoprotein, various exopolysaccharides, and others. The problem of natural–biomedical property interplay is also very important for biopolymers synthetized in animal, fungal, and plant cells, such as chitosan, pectin, alginate, collagen, fibroin, etc. Moreover, some chemically synthetic polymers show biomimetic properties that are very similar to the natural properties of bacterial-origin polymers. For example, in ultrathin films’ polystyrol pattern, the crystalline structures are almost the same to those of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate); some polyacrylate hydrogels can be cross-linked with calcium ions, same as alginate hydrogels.
The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the urgent problem of the relationship between biomedical properties and natural functions of bacterial-origin polymers and their functional analogues to search for their new applications in medicine, pharmacology, and bioengineering.

Dr. Anton Bonartsev
Guest Editor

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• bacterial-origin polymers
• biomedical properties
• natural functions
• biological activity
• polysaccharides
• polyanions
• polyhydroxyalkanoates
• polyphosphates